LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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SONGS OF TRUTH 



CLARA ELIZABETH CHOATE 

Author of Modern Science of Body 



SECOND EDITION 




5-rri-/ 



LEE AND SHEPARD PURLTSHERS 

lO MILK. STREET 
BOSTON 






CorvKiGHT, iSg4, 
By Clara K. Choatk. 



" '^ brvsr \xiill fiiiti liim 
SiSailom a srnnon fltrs. 



(JToutcnts 



My Pearls 
Forever 
Life's Work 
My Appeal 
Love . • • 
Retrospeci'ion 
Speak the Word Om 
Beneficence . . • 
]\Iy Petitiox . ■ 
Down by the Sea 
Lir.nr . ■ 
Truth . . 
My Message 
Consolation 

AVORK . . 

Recognition 
The Heart 
Trust . • 
Nature's Song and S' 

An Answer 

Love's Will 

A Memory 

A Stray Thought 



7 
9 
II 

15 
19 



35 
39 
43 

45 
47 
51 
55 
57 
61 

65 
69 

71 
75 
77 
8:1 



iEu Pearls 



These are my pearls, 

Gathered on the highway 

Of hfe's immortal thought ; 

Precious jewels in the pathway, 

Like angel message brought. 
These are my pearls. 



jFovrbrr 



Love is the grandest truth of life, 

Forever, oh, forever. 
Love toils for duty without strife, 

And wearies never, never. 
Love is the sunshine for all tears. 
Love is the strength o'er all the fears, 
Love is the goal of all the years. 

Forever, oh, forever. 

Love is the harmony of the soul, 

Forever, oh, forever. 
Love is the great and wondrous whole. 

And changes never, never. 
Love is the heaven earth will lind. 
Love is the spirit of mankind, 
Love is the triumph truth will bind. 

Forever, yes, forever. 



Hifr's mox\{ 



It matters not so very much 

Where the great work of Hfe begins, 

If only love shall lead the way, 

Since love's grand law forever wins. 

To follow up the high desire, 

Nor falter by the wayside lone, 
P\)r truth's conviction guides aright, 

Divinest gift true souls must own. 

The falsities of earthly hopes 

May ever tempt and plead their claim, 
But steadfast purpose disinthralls, 

And faith's pure light makes all things plain. 

Truth's royalty will clothe with power 

The soul's sublime ideal ; 
Earth will defend and heaven will guard 

Love's mightiest guest, the real. 



Firm trust and ixitience oft renew 

Their vigil watcli for truth and right ; 

That hfe's immortal work may moxe 
In love's full measure of God's light. 

True love must underlie all work, 
Must override all doubt and fear ; 

Life's inspiration must be truth, 

Life's conquest gained when love is near. 



i«u ^Sppral 



Come listen to the words of Christ, 
Whose truth is peace and health, 

Unfold thy heart to things divine, 
Whose gifts are greatest wealth. 

Bow down thine ear to love's sweet strain. 
Sung through the life of Him 

Whose glory shines in lifting up 
From sickness, weakness, sin. 

No thought He gave to humankind 

But thrills the world to-day ; 
Love's law the heavens must emulate. 

Love's law man must obey. 



For thee His blessings freely wait, 
His faith, His truth, His might ; 

So lay aside earth's doubts and fears. 
Receive His wondrous light. 

No measure unto thee is given ; 

Seek though thy strength is tried ; 
Make Christ thine own, thyself a Christ, 

Then shalt thou be satisfied. 



ILobc 



Living in the sunlight forever 
Of love, is the crowning of life ; 

'Tis the hope human hearts sweetly cherish 
Mid the seeming of weakness and strife. 

And the fulness of love's joyful birthright 
Beams clear on the vision of man, 

Revealing the highest conception 
Of spirit, and God's wondrous plan. 

For goodness chases the shadows 
Called sickness and sorrow and sin. 

Beyond the hills of earth's morning, 
Till love's glory and splendor shine in. 



Transforming; the earth into heaven, 
Translating the human and weak, 

Till love alone is the living, 

And love only the words men speak. 

For love is the soul and redeemer, 

And love is the Christ men must find 

And love, pure love, is the saviour, 
Life's helper, and health of mankind. 



Ertrosprrtiou 



What would I have, 

Of all that could be given, 
To make my life more sweet, 

A truer song from heaven, 

If fortune, friends, and fame 
Were easy prey to win. 

And every joy of earth 

Like magic could float in ? 

What would I seek, 

More eager to possess. 
Than poet's genius of the soul. 

True touch of holiness ? 

What would I know 

Of life, humane, divine, 

E'en though the mystery of death 
Dissolved b\' thouirht of mine ? 



'Tis surely this, 

The truth, the Hfe, the way, 

That perfect spirit of the Christ, 

Whose light makes endless day. 

His power sublime 

To comfort, heal, and bless, 
My own must be, if work 

Will bring such worthiness. 

This Christ-like love. 

My own, thy own, can be, 

'Tis life's immortal hope. 
And crowns eternity. 



,Sprafe Efjr SHorti ©nlo 



Speak the word only, its presence is health, 
Unto all people, 'tis life, love, and wealth ; 

Breathe it so grandly, other voices are still. 
Silenced is evil, the word is God's will. 

Speak the word only, speak without fear. 

Till the dumb too shall speak, and the deaf they 
shall hear ; 

Speak it so plainly, the lame leap for joy, 

That the bondage of sin its truths may destroy. 

Speak the word only, in magic or rhyme. 
Simple its language, its tone is sublime ; 

For the word is God's truth, its balm, and its might, 
Is the healing of nations, the triumph of right. 



* Speak' the word only, with sj^irit and power 

Of the soul's deep eonviction, born of the hour 
When the li<;ht of the word fills the heart with the 
love 
Of manhood's divinity, the Christ from above. 

Speak the word only, till all night is done, 

Till dav shines forever, heaven's glory is won, 

And all nations in truth and in spirit shall see 

Man's oneness with God, the word that makes free. 



Brucfirrncc 



Only a word so kindly given, 

What then ? 
Only a look this side of heaven, 

Just when 
The heart with lingering sigh 

And tear, 
Entering that city strange, 

Did hear 
A voice so strongly sweet, 
In tones of love complete, 
And words so fitly meet 

With sympathy. 

Only a touch of tender hands 

So true, 
Only a graceful smile in lands 

So new ; 
There in the far-off scene 

Of light, 



Filling the day most sweet 

And bright, 
A face did so impress, 
Its kindliness did so caress. 
Nor time nor distance can repress 

Love's memory. 

Trifles only on the highway 

So great, 
Seeming incidentals in the by-play 

Of fate; 
Dream was never known more fair 

Nor sure, 
Never was kindness seen more rare 

Or pure. 
Never could soul more richly feed 
With measure full of heaven's meed. 
Or give more love for human need : 

Love is divine. 



ilg Petition 



Lift me up, O heavenly Father, 
Till I feel thy strength sublime ; 

Let thy spirit be my spirit, 

Let me have no will but Thine. 

Bring into my life, O Father, 
Just the music of thy soul ; 

May the radiance of thy power 
All my words and deeds control. 

Wake within my heart, O Giver 
Of divinest good and gain, 

A response forever quickening 
Lito action love's refrain. 

Open wide of thy hid treasure, 
Priceless more than pearl of sea ; 

Meet my earnest, soulful longing 
For thy truth, — earth's mystery. 



Fill my soul with revelation 

Yet awaiting humankind, 
Teach me of thy boundless loving, 

How the Christ all men may find. 

Breathe through me thine own perfection, 
Till my heart no more shall see 

Aught but thy divine expressing 
Of love's grand eternity. 



DoUjh liu tbr Sra 



That was a beautiful day, O friend, 

Down by the sea, 
When the wind's whispering' brought love in its trend 

For you and me. 
Then, my heart rose from its sorrow and woes, 

Blessing" the day. 
That its sunlight had given a foretaste of heaven 

On earth's highway. 

That was a glorious night, O love. 

And stars looked down. 
While a sweetness reigned with the silence above, 

Like the hills' dark frown. 
And with faltering sigh life's pleasures go by — 

A farewell is said. 
For shadows will come, and souls nuist grow dumb 

When love's light has fled. 



But a morniiiL;' will come so fair, my own, 

When we shall meet, 
Heaven's portal be gained, the darkness o'crthrown, 

Joy at our feet. 
While the sj^lendor of love will shine from above 

In gladness free, 
Filling day and the night with love's morning bright, 

Down by the sea. 



iLtgfjt 



Oh, the Li<;ht ! Immortal radiance, 
Mung across life's stormy wave, 

Burdened souls will feel thy cadence, 
Hearts distressed thy love will save. 

Oh, the Light ! Divine forever. 
Blessings rich thy ways unfold ; 

Grandest hope of man has never 
Compassed all thy truth untold. 

Oh, the Light ! Thy brightness beaming 
Rescues man from every fear ; 

Gone the shadows and the seeming ; 
Light of day comes full and clear. 

Oh, the Light ! Supreme, eternal, 
Walking human hearts to see 

Thine own goodness reigns supernal ; 
Chanefcless bonds link them to Thee. 



Erutt) 



Out of a golden silence 

Comes ever a voice of love, 

Bringing us thoughts of heaven 
And the angel life above. 

And the tones so full of sweetness, 
Make memory still more dear, 

Picturing forms and faces 

Of the lost who yet are near. 

For death is only a curtain 

Hiding our loved ones from sight. 
Which truth and science will open. 

Revealing God's way as right. 

And right is forever spirit. 
The life of love bestowed, 

Is the music sweet of angels, 
The sunshine of man's abode. 



fHu IHfSsagr 



O CHILDREN of earth, God is speaking 
In the music of love's power divine, 

His spirit, the eternal unfolding. 

Chant's the measure of life's song sublime. 

To the hungry, oppressed, and faint-hearted 
His truth he pours out full and free ; 

His bounty and mercy are endless 

As the white sands tossed back by the sea. 

Neither wish, tear, nor sigh is unnoticed ; 

O children of earth, do you hear ? 
Not a pulse-beat of joy or of anguish, 

But finds answer when love is so near. 

O hearts, bowed down and so w^earied! 

O eyes, oft filled with sad tears, 
And with longings forever unuttered ! 

O souls, burdened ever with fears ! 



O dreamers of pain and of pleasures ! 

O chami)i()ns of right over wrong'! 
Love's law is ever the conqueror, 

Love's music the only true song-. 

Listen then in the stillness of spirit, 
All good is thine own, truth will say ; 

Its love-tone thy life will enrapture, 
Till the shadows of earth fade away. 

Rejoice, be glad, in the freedom of truth ! 

Rise, live, in the strength of God's will ! 
The might of the Christ is ever thine own, 

Every need of thy soul Christ can fill. 



Consolation 



A HUSH is over the house, 

And a silence reigns supreme, 

For the presence of one beloved 
Is gone like a bright day dream. 

To join the great forever 

Is the joyous soul now flown, 

Into the realm of eternal life. 

Where spirit shall know its own. 

Vacant the place, no greeting 

For the loved ones left in sorrow ; 

Narrower grows the circle here, 

Less planning for earth's to-morrow. 

Hearts wrung with anguish still bless 
The dear one M^hose earth-work is done. 

Ah ! life seems of sadness so full. 
So rough seems the pathway to run. 



And yet above all there is comfort, 
Christ leading revealeth the way, 

True faith illumines the darkness, 

And God's love turns night into day. 

Lo ! the silence of death seems the counting 
Twixt the measure of life's grand whole. 

Life is God — his song, man immortal ; 
Each note is a deathless soul. 



moi-ii 



Oh, the glory of occupation ! 

Oh, the hlessing of work well done ! 
Honest toil is the pride of creation, 

There is nothing nobler under the sun. 

Grimy faces, with souls pure and holy. 

Hard, rough hands, with a purpose strong, 

Shoulders bent, bearing earth's burden lowly - 
Fitting theme for heaven's own song. 

Not more sweet is love than labor, 
Not more true is its mission grand. 

Worth enthrones, and with heaven's favor 
Crowned is work ; it is God's command. 

Oh, the glory of occupation ! 

Oh, the blessing of work well done ! 
Honest toil is the pride of creation. 

There is nothing nobler under the sun. 



Brrogiution 



I WALK no more alone, 

Unseen my God is near ; 
Divinely sweet, this love unknown, 

Trust is sublime, faith knows no fear. 

I walk no more alone. 

Thy light dawns full and free. 
The soul's deep echoes nearer home 

Wake fullest consciousness of thee. 

I walk no more alone, 

Thou art forever here 
With me, whose life no more can roam - 

Love's true content can brins: no tear. 



I walk nci more alone, 

The head, the heart, the feet, 
Touched by the spirit's finest tone. 

Move to thy measure, full, complete. 

I walk no more alone, 

The whole of love is mine ; 

No power of earth from dust to throne 
Can separate my life from Thine. 



Clif l?rart 



Deep down against my heart 

So many lean, so many, 
Scarce can I think how to impart 

The needed strength to any. 

Yet still a faith comes ever near, 
I shall be more than ready 

To ease their burdens, lessen fear, 
While love will hold me steady. 

Our hearts are greater than we know, 

And love is never ending, 
As truth, eternal truth, must show, 

'Tis life's iri'eat "dorv sendinij. 



And hearts grow really strong, 

By calls to highest duty, 
Their work can weave no wrong, 

When filled with love's own beauty. 

For hearts in purest light 

Shine in the heart's best giving ; 
Trust brings the power of sight. 

And love is truest livinsf. 



Crust 



Sometimes the heart grows weary 

l^attHng against earth's wrong, 
Sometimes the feet will falter, 

Though duty calls be strong. 
Sometimes the eye looks downward, 
• And hope seems almost fled, 
While watcher and waiter can only pray 

For light, when truth seems dead. 

Yet amid the seeming and doubting, 

Amid all the wrong and the fear. 
Stands forever the love of the Father, 

Shines the light of His countenance clear 
For, born of His spirit, men concjuer, 

And, born of His love, men win ; 
His truth is the anthem of triumph, 

His strength is the victory o'er sin. 



Truth, won by faith, is hfc's glory. 

And the triumph, 'mid doubt and despair, 
Crowns with power the eternal unfolding- 

Of the heights and the depths of God's care. 
Till the soul in its glorious freedom 

Transposes all power as divine, 
Finding rest in the infinite oneness, 

And on earth finding; life is sublime. 



iilaturr's 5ong anti Storu 



The flowers in the grasses are singing, 

Earth hears not the song ; 
In the tree-tops an anthem is ringing, 

Birds sweetly the notes prolong. 

The rocks under foot are repeating 

The cry of the stars unheard, 
With the winds and the seas ever beating 

A chorus in unknown word. 

While the sunshine filled with the splendor 

Of that beautiful myst'ry life, 
P^ver deep in the heart is the wonder 

At the very absence of strife. 

Could the human but hear nature's story. 
Told by the flower, star, or stone, 

And their wonderful love-songs of glory, 
He would make them ever his own. 



^n ^nsbjcr 



I HAVE read thy poem tender 

Of gray eyes' soft light, 
And of snowy christening glory, 

Crown of hair so white ; 

And thy lines in sweetest music 

Tuned the air and sea, 
Till the earth seemed only harp-strings. 

Whispering love to thee. 

Just the flowing, silvery cadence 

Of love's song divine ; 
Just the burst in soul uplifting 

Of love's thought sublime ; 

Rippling melody of heart-chimes. 

Given by love unseen, 
Pulses sweet of soul unbounded, 

Hope waves of a dream. 



Faithful is love's gentle memory, 

Weaving holy strain, 
Brighter earth for such pure singing ; 

Seeming loss is gain. 

And the sea of stars give answer, 

I, thy love, am free, 
But my freedom binds me closer, 

Closer, love, to thee. 

And the same deep, wondrous love-link. 

Wide as crystal sea. 
Will gather in the longshore line. 

And bring thy love to thee. 



3Loiif's mm 



O UNIVERSE, SO grand ! 

The whole great world expand 

In tenderness ; 
Born of thy strength divine, 
Caught up in strains sublime, 

Of holiness. 
Thv soul's deej) heart-desire 
Fills human need with fire, 

Love's clearest light ; 
Lifting earth's care-worn child, 
Through Thy truth all undefiled. 

In radiance bright ; 
Till woe and sorrow cease, 
That cry for unknown peace, 

Is hushed and still, 
And Christ's own healing power, 
Like clouds of joy in shower — 

This is love's will. 



^ fHcmoru 



'TwAS a day to be remembered 

When we climbed that mountain height, 
When Corcovado in grandeur 

With Tijuca rose in sight ; 
Sister ranges robed in splendor, 

Peaks few rival mountains know, 
There, amid the southern breezes, 

Where Janeiro's mild winds blow. 

Air and earth were heavy laden 

With the fruits' own rich perfume. 
And the rising sun rays melted 

Into dreams of golden tune. 
Subtle as the Eden glories 

Stole their beauty o'er our soul, 
While with gentle lope the horses 

Bore us onward to our goal. 



Baffled is all speech in telling 

Of the varied landscape glow ; 
Baffled is all thought and feeling 

As we gaze on scenes below ; 
Silenced, deep in meditation, 

Leave we all our world behind. 
As if rising higher compelled us 

More to reverence nature's kind. 

Still we journey on and upward. 

When, behold, I am alone, 
Comes no answer to my shouting 

Save the echoes of my own. 
Visions wild of mangled horseman — 

Terror filled both heart and brain ; 
Quickly I retraced the pathway, 

Round steep curves my horse did rein. 

There to find my fears outwitted 

By the steed who fell behind, 
All undaunted pressed we forward, 

With uplifted heart and mind. 
Horse and man took friendly jxarting, 

For the roadway fast grew steep, 
Still Tijuca's rocky summit 

Seemed stretched into vaulted deep. 



High and grim in stern defiance 

Towered tlie battling walls above. 
But not stronger than our courage, 

And not grander than our love. 
Grasped we firm those chains of iron 

Niched into that rocky side, 
Till, appalled, we stood triumphant. 

Trembling, weak, from \ery pride. 

There protected from the sun rays, 

Under bush, and brake, and fern, 
Dreamed we of old Rio's offing, 

Dreamed of lo\e and our return. 
All too soon our dream was over. 

And the swing of spreading sail 
Beckoned, till our faltering footsteps 

Bore us down midst heaven's veil. 

Oh, the memory is entrancing. 

Heaven itself seems resting there ; 
Nor can futiu'e hold more splendor, 

Nor dream visions be more fair. 
Even though life is wrapt in sorrow. 

Veiled in clouds of saddest pain, 
Yet Tijuca's mountain glory 

Speaks love's paradise again. 



^ cStrag Eljougljt 



If we follow the right God's way we shall see, 
From day unto day in the guidance of hea\'en 

If we live near his love our worship will be 
A trust so divine, and all else that is given 

But unites man to God, a bond never riven, 
And the truth that sets free. 



iiiV.mim'!^,?.T O*" CONGRESS 

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016 211 671 A • 



